The festival of lights is here once again. Only this time it seems to have announced its arrival in a much more ostentatious fashion, with the larger-than-life effect of sound, light and shopping! There is buoyancy in the air and in the markets, with shops filled to bursting with both goods and customers.For GenNext, things couldn’t be better. These youngsters have more money to blow up than ever before — more, probably, than their fathers at their age had seen in a year and their grandfathers, in a lifetime — and the season provides them with the perfect excuse to give full vent to their high spirits and deep pockets.For the average young dude, it’s all about mithai, gifts and fun unlimited. The responsibilities and preparations entailed are always somebody else’s headache! It’s a season to do one’s own thing. New-fangled fireworks and rock bands remixing old popular hits and bhakti sangeet with the rap beat gets every cool young thing grooving. It doesn’t really bother anyone that they may, in the process, be trampling on a few traditions here and there or upsetting some old grandma or grandaunt somewhere.It doesn’t even matter that all that gorging and dancing could extract a price in terms of health. We’ll cross that bridge when when we come to it, is the general philosophy. Life is short and needs to be enjoyed, is the universal mantra.After all, today’s generation is associated with the fiery never-say-die spirit of the times and somehow the fireworks seem to match the great energy on display. The constant attempt is to touch higher and higher levels of enjoyment. And the big corporate sponsors just love it. They are always ready to host a bash if it can help them to corner a bit of the ever-expanding youth market.And if you ask the average kid on the block whether depleting energy reserves worries him/her, whether the fraying ozone layer is a concern, you will most probably get a snort in return. “Celebrations or no celebrations, pollution is not going to come down and automobiles are not going to spare the air,” is the likely reply.It is as if they know that an uncertain tomorrow awaits them, one rife with work pressures, complicated lifestyles and general tension. It is as if they just want to fend off that prospect for a little bit longer.What’s important then is today and now. Savour it as long as it lasts. Enjoy! Surely everyone is entitled to a few dreams and a bit of fun?
